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Easy Vegan Falafel Burger Recipe. Chickpea patties with 5 minute tahini dressing, tomatoes, onions, pickles make for a filling and flavorful burger. Vegan Soy-free Recipe. Ready within 30 Minutes. Can be made gluten-free. Pin it for later. Jump to Recipe
Everyone needs a falafel burger! A simple Chickpea burger with falafel flavors, tahini dressing, pickles, lettuce and other fixings.
This falafel burger uses cooked chickpeas, cumin, coriander, cardamom, parley, lemon and a binder and comes together within minutes. Pan fry until golden. Make the 5 minute Tahini dressing. Serve these between buns with a generous dressing or in a pita bread! Sesame seeds add an amazing flavor and crunch to the patties. Use breadcrumbs, or coarsely ground oats as binder. Make these flavorful soft moist falafel burger patties!
I prefer these panfried as baked chickpea patties tend to dry out a bit more. To bake these, make sure to add some additional moistue holding ingredients such as tahini and 1 flax egg(1 tbsp flax mixed in 2.5 tbsp water). The patties come together very quickly. Put everything in a processor, shape and pan fry. The whole sandwich or wrap, however you want to serve these are ready within 30 Minutes.
Oh yes, if you use all cilantro instead of parsley, serve these with chutneys of choice. Also, serve 1 patty per burger. The stacking is for photo purposes only ;).
More Burgers from the blog
- Lentil Quinoa “Meatloaf” Burger
- BBQ Veggie Burger with Mango Carrot Cabbage slaw
- Lentil Walnut Burgers.
- Red Lentil and Cauliflower Burger with Onion rings and Chipotle Habanero Mayo
- Grill-able Artichoke Cauliflower Spinach Bean Burger
- and a 35 Veggie burger collection round up!
Classic falafel uses dry chickpeas that are soaked overnight and used. Since I almost never deep fry, I have found that the soaked chickpeas dont work as well when pan fried or baked. If using dry chickpeas, cook them a bit before using for best results. See notes in the Recipe box.
If you make these, do tag me on Instagram and let me know in comments how it worked out!
Make the falafel mixture, chill and shape into patties. Pan fry until golden. I use both raw garlic and roasted garlic in these patties. Raw garlic can sometimes be a strong flavor profile, so use whichever garlic you prefer.
Serve in a burger or pita bread with toppings of choice.
Video:
Easy Vegan Falafel Burger
Ingredients
Falafel Patties:
- 30 oz canned chickpeas, washed well and drained. or about 3 cups cooked
- 3/4 cup loosely chopped red onion
- 4 cloves of garlic, , preferably roasted or lightly cooked to golden
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup parsley
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1.5 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp or more ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 to 1 tsp salt, depends on whether the chickpeas are salted
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp or more lemon juice
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup more breadcrumbs, use gluten-free crumbs, coarsely blended oats or gf flour to make gluten-free
Tahini dressing:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1 clove of garlic
- a handful of fresh parsley
- 2 to 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup or more water
- 1/4 tsp salt
Other Toppings:
- Sliced tomato
- Sliced onions
- Sliced pickles, dill cucumber pickle
- lettuce or greens
Instructions
Make the falafel Burgers:
- Drain the chickpeas, wash and drain well and keep ready.
- In a processor, add onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro and pulse to mince.
- Add the rest of the ingredients through oil and the chickpeas and pulse to make a coarse mixture.
- Transfer to a bowl and add sesame seeds and breadcrumbs and mix in. Add enough crumbs to make a soft doughy mixture. The dough will become less sticky as it chills.
- Chill the mixture for 20 to 30 minutes.Taste and adjust salt, tang, flavor(add more spices if oyu like) and heat and mix in.
- Shape into patties and pan fry on a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat for 6 to 7 minutes per side.
Make the dressing:
- Blend everything under tahini dressing. Taste and adjust salt and tang. Add more tahini for thicker dressing and more water for thinner.
Assemble:
- Toast the burger buns. Assemble the burger with sliced tomatoes, onions, lettuce or greens, falafel patties and a generous amount of tahini dressing, pickles. Add some hot sauce if you wish. Serve! I also often add a layer of hummus. Serve as burgers or in a pita bread.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I tried making the falafel burgers. While they tasted GREAT, they fell apart. What can I do to keep them from breaking up the next time?
you can add a flax egg ( 1 tbsp flax seed and 2.5 tbsp water mix and let sit for 2 minutes then use). and also mash the chickpeas well. Chickpeas depending on the brand can be well cooked or slightly less cooked and that affects the moisture content and texture. You can also add some cooked rice or quinoa for additional binding.
HI!
So I am in the process of making these burgers now. As I am frying them, I am noticing that they are not holding together very well and are a bit mushy… How can I fix this? Maybe I didn’t let them sit long enough?
Maybe they need to be mashed a bit more? you can also add more flour to help bind if there is too much moisture. Chickpeas can be too crumbly or a bit over cooked and soft. Also, falafel texture is generally slightly crumbly.
Hi. Great recipes. What do you use to shape the patties?
Thanks
I pack them in a cookie cutter, then tap the cutter to remove the patty. Flatten it more using your hands if needed.
Made this tonight for dinner and it was delightful! I made it into little felafel balls to go with my pita bread and I made 1.5 of this recipe for 5 of us. Let me tell you, we need a much bigger portion! These lovely falafels just keep creeping into my mouth like chicken poppers, but better for you.
The only thing I would change is to add more salt, since I used unsalted chickpeas so the result did not come out as salty as I would like it to be. Never the less, its delicious, delightful and pack full of spices. and flavour.
Also used a blendtec instead of food processor, a bit of a pain but I made it work!
These patties always come out so amazingly! i make them in all sizes for variety of meals.
good chickpea flavor, but the falafel taste wasn’t that complex or dynamic. After adding some sunflower seeds for a nice crunch and some cumin, I enjoyed the patties much more
Thanks. maybe the cumin was a bit old? usually these are pretty flavorful. sunflower seeds are a great addition.
Also the added seeds will need additional spices
Will the patties hold together without the oil? What are the alternatives (low fat)?
Thanks
Yes, they well. mash them well. Maybe add another tbsp of tahini and bake them.
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can we add an egg as a binder, instead of breadcrumbs? great recipe
I haven’t used egg in a while, so I wouldn’t know. it would add too much moisture. Use flour instead.
The egg industry culls 100 million male chicks every year as soon as they are born, by grinding them up alive in machines or suffocating in trash bags. 100s of millions of hens live in horrible conditions, many die when their bodies give up after producing egg after egg. eventually the rest are electrocuted or scalded to death. There is no need to use eggs for taste or nutrition in everyday food, which is why I have a vegan blog with 1000s of egg-free recipes.
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